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Danny Popp seems to get by with just Van Steel coil-overs and A-arms.
Great picture. Half shafts parallel if not a tick 'up', adjustable strut rods parallel to half shafts, smart strut mounting with eccentrics at bottom of slot.
The 'big boys' all run VanSteel or Ridetech. VanSteel costs less.
Age old question what's the budget? Then what's the intension? Detroit Speed, Ride Tech, and Van Steel are out there at the Goodguys Autocross every event. Danny Popp is a great driver. He runs Van Steel. He wins constantly. Yes he is very skilled but I would guess he could run any suspension he wants. If Van Steel is right for him hard to believe it would not work for one of us. Added benefit it's also a bit more budget friendly as noted above.
Age old question what's the budget? Then what's the intension? Detroit Speed, Ride Tech, and Van Steel are out there at the Goodguys Autocross every event. Danny Popp is a great driver. He runs Van Steel. He wins constantly. Yes he is very skilled but I would guess he could run any suspension he wants. If Van Steel is right for him hard to believe it would not work for one of us. Added benefit it's also a bit more budget friendly as noted above.
He might be better with the Detroit Speed setup ? But the Detroit speed setup looks FANTASTIC until you see the price
For the front I don't think there is much difference in measurable performance using the same alignment settings in each setup.
For the rear the Detroit setup gives you what any modern super car needs.
The Detroit setup gives you every adjustment that the track junkies are looking for , but at a big price.
One of our forum members had his various suspension evolutions listed from worst to best.
He had used most of the products on this forum.
It was great that he had used several configurations and could grade them!
I'm thinking it always comes down to MONEY!
He might be better with the Detroit Speed setup ? But the Detroit speed setup looks FANTASTIC until you see the price
For the front I don't think there is much difference in measurable performance using the same alignment settings in each setup.
For the rear the Detroit setup gives you what any modern super car needs.
The Detroit setup gives you every adjustment that the track junkies are looking for , but at a big price.
I would love to have the Detroit setup on my car.
My opinion also. As far as I can see, the Detroit rear is the only system on the market that properly addresses both toe control and eliminating the half shaft as a suspension component.
Thanks gents! I was not taking the Vansteel seriously, but if a good driver can consistently win, then whats more to say.
Yes for the price, Sharkbite packs a lot of bling factor, but I'm getting the impression that from a performance perspective, not a lot of respect.
Here is my story, and I can post some pictures and a video. I purchased a 77 L48. It sounds like hell on wheels, but its not all that. Just a solid place to start. I drove it around a few blocks before buying it and got it home on the ramps to look at it. The brakes are scary soft all the way to the floor. So I shall address that at the top of the list. More importantly, the concrete roads here in the Dallas area have nice little seams that bump and make the car feel as if the suspension is really off. I looked and the driver side front shock brace is held at the bottom by one bolt. Once on stands, I found out the driver side axle pulls out of the differential making it look like the back tire of a volkswagon dune buggy.
Those are my first three areas to fix. And I like to fix it right the first time.
I wonder how much weight is shed by the Vansteel setup vs the Sharkbite with its heavy aluminum use.
OK so I would love to hear about which set has the least maintenance?
I have not toyed around with cars in years since the 80s really but as an example. I used to run Holly carbs. They were easy for me at least to tune and adjust, but temperamental. I always wondered if I would be better with a nice shiny chromed out Edelbrock quadrajet some called them quadrajunk, but hell it appears you set them up and you were done.
Some of the suspension kits have a hella lot of adjustments, but I do not have the right equipment or knowledge to tune them and trust few shops do. Which one is more reliable?
Great picture. Half shafts parallel if not a tick 'up', adjustable strut rods parallel to half shafts, smart strut mounting with eccentrics at bottom of slot.
The 'big boys' all run VanSteel or Ridetech. VanSteel costs less.
Great picture. Half shafts parallel if not a tick 'up', adjustable strut rods parallel to half shafts, smart strut mounting with eccentrics at bottom of slot.
The 'big boys' all run VanSteel or Ridetech. VanSteel costs less.
I wonder if Danny adjusts the eccentrics up or down depending on what event he's running. LS Fest for example has a drag race event where he would want the eccentrics adjusted down as shown.
Age old question what's the budget? Then what's the intension? Detroit Speed, Ride Tech, and Van Steel are out there at the Goodguys Autocross every event. Danny Popp is a great driver. He runs Van Steel. He wins constantly. Yes he is very skilled but I would guess he could run any suspension he wants. If Van Steel is right for him hard to believe it would not work for one of us. Added benefit it's also a bit more budget friendly as noted above.
I'm trying to be realistic and thinking I may have as much as 20k in this car to get it like I want it. But if vansteel is that good for that cheap. And no one can convince me that the Shark bite setup is as good performance wise as the looks, then vansteel might be in my budget. Just leaves more money for the engine and manual trans upgrade.
I'm sure the Pros have done extensive testing to find the best possible combo of parts and adjustments.
I can only imagine how many tires they have been through to find the sweet spot!
For many of us all we can do is try to copy/imitate what the fast guys are running.
I would not want to ride in Danny's Vette for 300 miles, it might be a little rough. lol
Van Steel puts coil overs in front of axle. Top mount points are old shock mounts reinforced.
The RideTech suspension puts the coil overs behind axle and uses a new crossmember.
The Sharkbite is more show than go imho.
I have not looked at the Detroit Speed.
The advantages of coilovers over the stock leaf are adjustability of spring rate (by replacing the springs) and ride height. The suspension design is the same for stock, Van Steel, Ridetech or Sharkbite.
The only other option is the DragVette 6 link which eliminates the axles as the upper control arm but it is more suited to drag racing than street use. Gordon M used it then went back to a stock trailing arm style setup.
Honestly, there is nothing wrong with the stock setup for a 99% street car. I have a custom 400# VBP composite spring shortened 1/2" on each side, Bilstein shocks and a 9/16" big block sway bar in the rear. Works great on the street.
My opinion also. As far as I can see, the Detroit rear is the only system on the market that properly addresses both toe control and eliminating the half shaft as a suspension component.
Yeah, very similar layout to the Greenwood setup, based on where the links are attached, but with that additional top link.
Last edited by C3DeedlyDee; 07-18-2017 at 09:12 PM.
Without thought of tire and spring rates or level of sophistication of shock absorbers, you can basically throw a blanket of similar performance on these. Naturally each has offered a package that they think works or multiple package offerings in rates and shock settings, or they have settled on what they think the majority of Customers like. Store bought and plug and play can be beat by engineering and testing beyond what these Companies have settled on which is a very nice and respectful compromise to please the most customers or market interest to the largest audience in this niche.
A tire can only provide yea so much grip! Therefore the spring and alignment of the footprint to the ground is crucial. You try to get the optimum through the range of suspension travel, but like in a recent thread where I operate in a designed 3" of travel (less travel, less tire footprint rocking up on the edge, and better chance of tuning for flat footprint), the point of that was missed by a few. These Companies probably can get you to race track handling, but with each step closer to that, you give away more and more comfort on the street. Yes it would be wonderful to have long travel shocks and variable spring rates, and ease of adjust shocks and adjustability of alignment to optimize, and some of these give some decent features in that direction. Some are using the trick race type parts (sphericals, heims, johnny joints, levers, unsprung weight configs) to give you a good product for a higher level of handling.
Basically you have to pick the operating environment, and get and set your suspension to best get the most in that envelope! Each suspension is going to give you an envelope of potential performance and for each component you change, you change the envelope. If you are too radical in the race direction, you lose envelope for the street.
And a lot of drivers, honestly will never touch the outer fringes of the performance envelope or the tire adhesion anyways in a true maximized all out suspension, and with many of these suspension won't know if their chosen one is the best. Etc. etc. etc.
Last edited by TCracingCA; 07-19-2017 at 08:28 PM.
07-15-2017, 10:50 PM
Ride Tech, Shark Bite, Detroit Speed, or Other Suspensions
until you see the price 
